Sansan Expands Pickleball Player Sponsorship to Three Athletes, Renews Contracts with Nasa Hatakeyama and Kei Sawaki, and Appoints Rika Fujiwara as Ambassador for "Sansan Pickleball Court Ikebukuro"

Sansan Inc., with its mission to "Create innovation from encounters," announces the expansion of its professional pickleball player sponsorship to a three-athlete lineup.

In addition to renewing sponsorship contracts with Nasa Hatakeyama and Kei Sawaki, who have been sponsored since 2025, the company will enter into an ambassador agreement with Rika Fujiwara, a professional tennis player and one of the top-ranked Japanese female pickleball players, for "Sansan Pickleball Court."

Background of Sponsorship Expansion

Pickleball, a sport that originated in the United States in 1965, is a racket sport played with a paddle on a court the same size as a badminton court, hitting a plastic ball with holes. Statistics show that approximately 50 million people in the U.S., about one in five adults, played in the past year (※1), and in Japan, the number of players has surged approximately sevenfold year-on-year to about 330,000 (※2), making it a sport gaining significant attention for its rising popularity.

Sansan has focused on pickleball's "power to create encounters" that transcends generations and values, promoting its popularization in Japan since February 2024. The company believes this sport, which allows participation regardless of age or sports background and naturally fosters communication on a compact court, has strong affinity with its mission to "Create innovation from encounters."

Starting in 2025, Sansan will provide full sponsorship as a partner company for "Pickleball X," Japan's first global top pro development project (※3). In July of the same year, sponsorship contracts were signed with Nasa Hatakeyama and Kei Sawaki, who were first-term members of the project (※4). Subsequently, Sansan has been advancing its full-scale business development, including organizing the international tournament "PPA Tour ASIA Sansan FUKUOKA OPEN 2025" and developing "Sansan Pickleball Court Ikebukuro" (※5), the largest dedicated facility in Tokyo scheduled to open in July 2026. Through these initiatives, Sansan has decided to expand its sponsorship system to three athletes, driven by the desire to continue supporting the success of players who are at the forefront of pickleball in Japan and to widely convey the sport's appeal to society together.

Achievements of Hatakeyama and Sawaki and Contract Renewals

Nasa Hatakeyama achieved the first-ever runner-up finish in the PPA Tour Asia men's singles at the "PPA Asia 500 Panas Kuala Lumpur Open 2026" held in May 2026, steadily enhancing his international competitiveness as a representative Japanese pickleball player. He is now entering a crucial phase of further intensifying his participation in overseas tours and pursuing results on the world stage.

Kei Sawaki has achieved top-class results, including winning the U-16 category at the Pickleball World Championships held in the U.S. last year and earning a bronze medal in women's doubles at the "PPA Asia 500 Macao Open 2026." Amidst growing momentum for pickleball to become an official Olympic sport, Sawaki is a highly anticipated athlete as one of the strongest candidates for the Japanese national team at the 2032 Games. Sansan will continue to support both athletes' growth and their challenges on the world stage as a sponsor.

Ambassador Agreement with Rika Fujiwara

Rika Fujiwara, who has newly signed an ambassador agreement, will be responsible for participating in events based at "Sansan Pickleball Court Ikebukuro" and disseminating information as its ambassador.

Fujiwara, as a professional tennis player, has a track record of reaching the semifinals of the French Open doubles and has led Japanese tennis for 11 years as a member of the national team. She began playing pickleball seriously in 2024. From 2025, she will be dedicated to player development as a coach for "Pickleball X" while also competing as a player in the "PPA Tour," the highest professional tour in the U.S. She won the singles title at the "PPA Asia 500 Macao OPEN 2026," becoming the first Japanese woman to win a singles title and the oldest winner in PPA Asia history. Even in her 40s, she continues to evolve and challenge herself to reach the top of the world.

Her relentless pursuit of challenges and continuous evolution are believed to have the power to deliver the appeal of pickleball to a wide range of generations, leading to this agreement.

Nasa Hatakeyama Player Profile

Born in Hokkaido, age 29. Started playing tennis in childhood, achieving national championships twice in junior categories. Was runner-up in the Inter-High School Championships in high school and won the Intercollegiate Championships twice in university.

In his first year as a working adult, he took up padel, was selected for the Japanese national team within just one year, and subsequently became captain of the national team. He won the All Japan Championships three times and was selected for the Japanese national team for the 2026 Asian Games in padel.

Encountered pickleball in the fall of 2024 and joined as a first-term member of "Pickleball X," Japan's first enhancement project. He became the first Japanese player to reach the finals in PPA Tour Asia men's singles, finishing as runner-up.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nasa.picklepadel/

Kei Sawaki Player Profile

Born in Tokyo, age 15. Started playing tennis at age 5, achieving numerous results including runner-up in the All Japan Elementary School Championships. Encountered pickleball at age 14 and was the youngest member selected for the first term of "Pickleball X." Won the U-16 singles and doubles at the "Asia Pickleball Junior Open" in 2025 and competed in the junior category finals and women's doubles pro main draw at the "PPA Tour World Championships." She is a top young player attracting attention as one of the strongest candidates for the Japanese national team at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keipball/ URL: https://keisawaki.com/

Rika Fujiwara Player Profile

As a professional tennis player, achieved best 4 in the French Open doubles and best 8 in the Australian Open doubles, and led the tennis world for 11 years as a member of the Japanese national team. Started pickleball seriously in 2024. In September 2025, she won a singles medal at the "PPA Tour Asia MB Vietnam Open," the first for a Japanese woman. In November of the same year, she reached the singles top 16 at the PPA Tour World Championships (Dallas, USA). In March 2026, she signed a player contract with "PPA Tour" and is now active as a professional athlete. She is currently ranked 1st in Asia and 17th in the world. She also serves as a coach for "Pickleball X," involved in nurturing the next generation of players.

"Sansan Pickleball Court Ikebukuro" Details

Facility Name: Sansan Pickleball Court Ikebukuro Address: 4F, 5F, 6F Sun Sougo Ikebukuro Building, 4-27-10 Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo Access: 3-minute walk from Higashi-Ikebukuro Station (Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line) / 10-minute walk from Ikebukuro Station (JR and various Tokyo Metro lines) Facilities: 3 indoor courts (4F), 4 outdoor courts (6F), lounge / changing rooms / showers (5F) Business Hours: Indoor 6:00 AM - 11:00 PM / Outdoor 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM (Open year-round)

Official Website: https://sansan-pickleball.com/

Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sansan_pickleball_court/

※1: Association of Pickleball Professionals, "New APP Research Reveals Nearly 50 Million Adult Americans Have Played Pickleball In The Last 12 Months; Average Age Drops To 35" (Announced March 29, 2023)

https://www.theapp.global/news/nearly-50-million-adult-americans-have-played-pickleball/

※2: Pickleball One Inc., "Japan Pickleball Market Research 2026: 330,000 Players, Potential 11.89 Million - '36x Growth Potential' Indicates Early Stage Market" (Announced April 21, 2026)

https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000024.000133975.html

※3: Sansan Inc., "Sansan Fully Sponsors Japan's First Pickleball Player Development Project" (Announced January 31, 2025) https://jp.corp-sansan.com/news/2025/0131.html

※4: Sansan Inc., "Sansan Signs Sponsorship Agreements with Two Emerging Sport Pickleball Players" (Announced July 25, 2025) https://jp.corp-sansan.com/news/2025/0725_02.html

※5: Sansan Inc., "Opens 'Sansan Pickleball Court Ikebukuro,' Tokyo's First Large-Scale Dedicated Pickleball Facility" (Announced January 28, 2026) https://jp.corp-sansan.com/news/2026/0128.html

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Sansan Inc. Company Overview With the mission to "Create innovation from encounters," Sansan Inc. provides AX services that transform the way people work. Its main services include the business database "Sansan," the business card app "Eight," the accounting AX service "Bill One," the contract management service "Contract One," and data quality management "Sansan Data Intelligence," offered both domestically and internationally.

Established: June 11, 2007

URL: https://jp.corp-sansan.com/

Location: Shibuya Sakura Stage 28F, 1-1 Sakuragaoka-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-6228

Capital: 7.35 billion yen (as of February 28, 2026)

Business Activities: Planning, development, and sales of AX services that transform the way people work.

Sansan https://jp.sansan.com/

Eight https://8card.net/

Bill One https://bill-one.com/

Contract One https://contract-one.com/

Sansan Data Intelligence https://jp.sansan.com/sansan-data-intelligence/